


when you leave me for good

by PilotInTheStars



Category: Ant-Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Healing, Hope POV, I'm Sorry, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29411193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PilotInTheStars/pseuds/PilotInTheStars
Summary: The aftermath of Scott's death as Hope tries to pick up the pieces.
Relationships: Cassie Lang & Hope Van Dyne, Hank Pym & Hope Van Dyne, Hope Van Dyne & Janet Van Dyne, Maggie Lang & Hope Van Dyne, Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	when you leave me for good

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. 
> 
> Thank you to @sharknana29 for letting me put her through beta-ing this. 
> 
> I do want to say, this IS about the aftermath of a character's death. There's a lot of grief and a lot of angst. Please mind the tags. 
> 
> And please believe me that I do not want Scott to die in the third movie kjhgfjkkjh.

Even when living the life of a superhero, Hope couldn’t deny that she thought that she and Scott had all the time in the world. Life after the Snap was reversed was blissful, it was calm. When something terrible happens, and something starts to look good, how can you help but not imagine that things couldn’t get worse again?

She had the happy family she had always wanted; she felt loved like she hadn’t for most of her life. Even with the uncertainty, she felt at peace. The world had been cruel enough to the both of them. 

And now, sitting in her parents’ house, on the floor of her childhood bedroom, she couldn’t find any words. She had never imagined writing a eulogy for her partner’s funeral. No one really expected to. 

Writing a eulogy might have been a morning task, something to do when the sun had just risen and you hadn’t spent all day steeping in the emotions. But Hope couldn’t sleep, had only tossed and turned for hours.

In all fairness, she hadn’t slept well in years, and hadn’t given herself the chance to. Coming back after the Snap had just made everything worse. And she didn’t know how to sleep well now, when her heart was aching and the room was too hot and she was too tall to lie comfortably in her childhood bed. 

_ Scott was dead. He was dead and gone and never coming back.  _

If she could wish for anything right now, she’d wish to forget the moment he died. When the injuries from the fight were too much and he’d passed away in that hospital bed. 

It haunted all her memories now. It haunted her when she walked through the house. It haunted her when she tried to speak to anyone.

And now the words wouldn’t come, even when her pain was present and her pen was pressed to the paper.

* * *

She couldn’t hide forever, and her mother went with her to her and Scott’s old apartment the day after the funeral. It was the exact same as it was the day he died. Nothing had changed. She could almost pretend like he would be home soon. 

“We’ll just find a place to start,” her mother said, resting her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Hope only nodded. 

Cassie’s room was first; the thought of going anywhere else, especially their room, was enough to almost break Hope right now. Some of Cassie’s school books were still there and she would probably want her necessary things back. Hope didn’t want to pry through everything. 

Janet found a cardboard box for them to put Cassie’s schoolbooks in.

“I’ll bring them over to Maggie’s tomorrow,” Janet said.

Hope didn’t reply, only nodding a silent “thanks” before moving to pick up the chemistry textbook Cassie had left on the dresser, only to find something lying underneath- a Polaroid photo taken by the camera Cassie had gotten for the holidays. 

Hope remembered the moment clear as day. They had gone to the park that summer for lunch and Cassie had taken a photo once they got there. It was way too hot to stay out for long, but they had managed to endure with ice cream sandwiches from a local convenience store. 

The photo was angled slightly weird, as Cassie tried to get all three of them in the picture. Hope hadn’t noticed she was taking the photo until after the fact, but Scott had noticed. He’d been so happy that day, happy to have both of them here. He hadn’t stopped smiling for the rest of the day.

She couldn’t stop the tears that came to her eyes, and she crumbled as her emotions fell. She fell to the ground in sobs and her mother sat down next to her and pulled her daughter into her embrace, rocking her as if she was a child again. 

* * *

Hope didn’t feel like herself. But she supposed no one would feel like themselves, writing formulaic thank you's to the Avengers for their sympathy. They all said the same things; how could she help but write the same reply?

_ He saved the world. It’s no surprise he kept helping people,  _ she thought.

Hope bit back the retort that he shouldn’t have died in the first place. 

With the letters of the condolence, came the flowers, which were now littering the Pym-Van Dyne house and she didn’t want them there. 

She was glad her mother was there. The flowers might have been thrown out otherwise, but her mother somehow found a spot for all of them. 

Her father had isolated himself in the lab for the past few days. He had said little to her, and she didn’t know if she wanted the silence or wanted him to say something.

But would she say back?

Amidst her grief, deep shame and guilt had started to fill her senses. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Cassie. The funeral?

_ Her stepdaughter needed her and she couldn’t even be there for her. _

And Hope didn’t even know what to say. She didn’t know what to say to anyone anymore.

The box for Janet to take to Maggie and Paxton’s was sitting by the front door. Hope slipped a note inside: 

_ Cass,  _

_ If you need anything, please let me know.  _

_ Love, Hope _

* * *

After a few weeks, Hope got back to work in the lab. She needed something to do, something to keep her mind occupied. Having something tangible to work on provided her with a distraction, and her parents gave her the space she needed.

Her mother had given her a discerning glance when she walked in. 

“I need something to do,” was the only explanation Hope gave. 

She cleared off her desk and got to work. 

It  _ was  _ better than just staying at the house all day. She did better with a distraction. Years ago when her mother was gone it had been her studies, and then it had been work at Pym Tech. 

She worked until her parents left, which was usually late afternoon. Occasionally her mother would pull up a seat next to her, or drop off food with a kiss to her temple before going off to her own desk. 

Her mother had taken the Wasp suit weeks ago Hope’s request. It sat at some dusty corner of the lab, for “repairs.” Hope didn’t feel ready to wear it again and part of her never wanted to wear it again. Not when everything had gone so wrong. 

But Scott wouldn’t want that. She knew he wouldn’t. Not when wearing the suit was something she had wanted for so long. 

_ I miss you,  _ she thought to herself, trying not to tear up as she worked a panel on the new quantum tunnel back into place. She sat back and surveyed her work as her phone vibrated in her back pocket. 

She was hesitant to check her phone now. Every text for the past month had seemed to be one of condolence, and she felt horrible for hating nearly every single one she got. 

Maggie:  _ Hey Hope. Cassie has her first soccer game in a while today and you’re always welcome to come if you want. No pressure at all, do what’s right for you. We’re here for you.  _

The thought of going to the soccer game gave her nausea.  _ How was she supposed to hold herself together?  _

Her mind drifted to Cassie, to her stepdaughter, who she hadn’t seen in a month. Guilt wracked her every day. 

Scott would want to go. He always wanted to go, was always the biggest cheerer at soccer games. The calendar pinned to the fridge in their apartment always had all of her games written down ahead of the time. And he wasn’t there now to cheer her on. He wouldn’t be again. 

* * *

Hope didn’t go right away, mulling over her options for a bit. And if you asked her about it later, she wouldn’t have an answer for what compelled her to go. 

She chose to arrive when the game was about half over, hoping to enter quietly and unseen by everyone else. The last thing she wanted was to be surrounded. 

Maggie caught sight of her and gave a wave and a sympathetic smile, patting the seat on the bleachers next to her. 

“Hey, Hope,” she said, as Hope walked up the bleachers and sat down. Hope could feel the eyes of a few people staring at her. She tried to ignore them.

“Hey. How's the game going?” 

“Pretty good, Cassie’s team is winning. I’m glad to see her back on the field, she’s always in a good mood after practice.”

Hope nodded, surveying the field. Cassie was both a natural and well-trained soccer player. Her mind was totally in the game. 

“How has she been, Maggie?” she asked quietly. 

Maggie was quiet. “She’s been… She’s had some bad days. Paxton said that it’s like after the Snap all over again. There’s been some better days too. You just have to take it hour by hour.”

“Yeah.” Hope looked down. “I’m sorry for being absent. I know I need to be there for her as well, and I haven’t, and that’s my fault.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Maggie said. “You have to take care of yourself too. She knows you’re there.”

Hope nodded and turned to the field. 

“How have  _ you  _ been, Hope?” Maggie asked softly.

Hope didn’t know anymore. The days all blurred together into one big mess. The only way to differentiate them now was to try and sort them out, memory by memory. The bad days far outnumbered the good.

She didn’t know how to have grace with herself. 

That’s what her mother had said one evening.

Hope  _ knew  _ she didn’t have to go into the lab every day, and she noticed her father and mother’s sad looks every time she walked in at some odd hour of the day. 

Simultaneously she couldn’t help it. Focusing on her work was about the only distraction she could find right now. 

“Getting by.”

Maggie was certainly much more touchy-feeling than Hope was, taking her hand and giving her a sympathetic glance. But Hope appreciated the gesture nonetheless. 

They didn’t talk for the rest of the game, but it wasn’t awkward. Hope couldn’t deny that their friendship was slightly strange. She never knew why Maggie had always been so kind from the start; she had always welcomed Hope from the start, and she was kind to Hope now.

Hope was glad for the friendship. 

Sure enough, Cassie’s team won the game, and after a handshake with the opposing side, and a final meeting with her teammates and coach, she grabbed her stuff and headed over to the bleachers. Maggie and Paxton headed down to greet her.

“Nice work, sweetheart,” Maggie said. Paxton pulled Cassie in for a hug. Hope stood behind, hands in her pockets, unsure if Cassie had seen her yet, 

“Thanks. Did you see that goal?” Cassie asked, a giant grin on her face. Some of Hope’s anxiety lessened at that. She was smiling. 

“Of course we did,” Paxton said, giving her a fist bump. And then Cassie saw Hope standing there. 

The world stopped for a moment. 

_ I’ve made it all worse,  _ Hope thought, about to excuse herself after seeing Cassie’s face crumble, but didn’t have time to have another thought before Cassie’s arms were around her, and she was holding onto her sobbing stepdaughter. 

“I’m sorry,” Hope said. And she was sorry for a lot of things. Sorry she couldn’t save Scott. Sorry she’d been missing and hadn’t seen Cassie in a month. Sorry that she had come to the game when it obviously distressed her like this. 

“No, no.” Cassie took a step back and wiped the tears from her face. She gave a watery smile. Maggie put a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Thanks for coming, Hope.”

* * *

He never left her dreams. At least, not completely. 

As the months passed, he arrived during her sleep less and less. The dreams were realistic though, like the dreams she had after her mother had disappeared- the strange, vivid mix of both grief and joy at seeing them; the fear of waking up again. 

If Hope wasn’t crying when she woke up, the tears would soon follow once she opened her eyes and realized it had all been a dream, and she’d be left lying in her bed again, alone and angry at the world and aching. 

The days that followed the dreams were pretty awful, her grief overwhelming. But she could hold herself together sometimes. 

Other times… she couldn’t. 

Hope woke with a start that evening, feeling a giant wave of grief consume her. She needed to be out of this room.

She stumbled out of bed and to her bathroom across the hall, turning on the light. And then the tears came, as she drew her legs up to her chest and tried to muffle her sobs. 

_ I just want you back.  _

What she would give to go back to a few months ago. To be back at their apartment. Getting home from the lab and having her family there. Waking up with Scott at her side, his lips pressed to her temple and his fingers in her hair.

But, like they always did, the tears abated. She got up and trudged her way back to bed. 

* * *

Hope went over for dinner at the Paxtons’ home at least once a week. It was nice, and she enjoyed the evenings there, even if it hurt sometimes. They didn’t have to include her. They had no reason to, but they did. She would help Cassie with her science or math homework, then head home for the evening. 

She had just gotten home and went up to the study when her father walked in.

To say they hadn’t talked much since Scott’s death would be an understatement. Their relationship wasn’t icy, she didn’t  _ think  _ it was falling apart. But, as her mother said at least once a week, the two of them were not that different. They knew when the other didn’t want to talk.

But it was clear that neither of them expected the other to be there.

“How are you?” her father asked, sitting down in his chair. 

Hope looked down at the book she was reading. She shrugged. “Getting by.”

Hank nodded. And his next words surprised her. “I’m sorry.”

The clock in the corner of the room was ticking. The music from the radio her mother had turned on drifted gently up through the walls and the floor. 

“You’ve deserved better from me for a long time. It’s…” he paused, looking for his words. “A terrible thing to go through. And I wish you didn’t have to go through that.”

The room suddenly felt too hot. Hope nodded as the tears formed her eyes, but couldn’t help but stand up and leave the room. 

* * *

When Hope’s thoughts overwhelmed her and she couldn’t get the aching feeling out of her heart, she went and sat in the backyard. It was nice out there; it was quiet and calm and she could collect her thoughts. 

But it was lonely too, but a loneliness she had gotten used to. 

Her mother always knew where to find her however, and Hope turned her head as Janet sat down next to her on the lawn chairs, passing her a glass of wine. 

“Thanks,” Hope said. 

“You’ve been out here for a while,” Janet said. “Thought I might come out and join you. If you want me to.”

“I’m open for company.” She’d be pretty lonely otherwise. That’s how she felt constantly recently. She took a sip from her wine glass. 

“I didn’t know how much I missed the stars when I was gone,” her mother said softly. 

Hope nodded, trying not to think of when Scott had said a similar thing to her. The crickets were chirping. Children were playing on the swingset at the house next door. Down the road, someone must have been having a house party. Distantly the music boomed.

“How was today?” Janet asked. 

Hope paused, looking down at her wine glass. “Really hard.” She took a breath to keep her tears at bay. “I miss him, Mom. I miss him so badly and everything’s just a reminder that he isn’t coming back.”

She felt her mother’s hand on her shoulder.

“And you got through it, Jellybean. The hard days pass. They do.” 

Hope gave a brief nod as acknowledgement. She set her wine on the side table. 

Her mother took a glance up at the stars again. “You know, when he and I got entangled in the quantum realm, we shared a lot of memories and feelings. And we kept sharing them for three years.” She tapped a finger against the stem of the glass. “The second we started sharing memories, I knew that he loved you. So much. No doubt about that. You and Cassie were the most important things to him. And Henry has always called me overly sentimental, but I don’t think love like that goes away even when they’re gone. It just doesn’t.” 

All Hope could do was nod, briefly wiping away the tears that had started to fall. She was pretty sure she had cried more in the past six months than she before in her whole life, and yet she couldn’t stop herself. 

Her mother took her hand until all the feelings abated. 

“Thank you,” Hope said softly.

“Of course.” Her mother took a glance at the ground. “Well, I’m an old lady now, and I’m tired.” Janet stood up and kissed the top of Hope’s head before heading into the house. “Don’t stay up too late.”

It felt like a moment that should have happened years ago, in a world where her mother hadn’t gotten lost in the quantum realm and she hadn’t been sent to boarding school. 

* * *

At her mother and father’s behest, Hope eventually went to a grief counselor. From the first step into the office, she knew it wasn’t going to go well. 

Her counselor was certainly  _ nice _ . They got along well enough. 

But it didn’t help that one Google search of her name could tell you a lot about her. Former chairwoman of Pym Tech who voted her own father out of the company. Recently acquitted international criminal wanted for violation of the Sokovia Accords. And according to recent reports after the final battle against Thanos, the Wasp. 

Why yes, Ant-Man and the Wasp  _ were  _ in a relationship. A committed one at that. They had an apartment and paid rent and bills and child support like the rest of the world. They did have actual lives. What a concept.

Her counselor- Sarah, according to the plate on her desk -was clicking her pen. Hope tried to not let the monotonous sound get to her. 

“Have there been any other losses in your life?” she asked.

_ Where did Hope even begin? _

She tried to formulate her thoughts in her head. There were a lot of details she probably couldn’t explain. “My mom died when I was seven. Or at least we thought she did.” Her counselor didn’t ask about the last part, just gave her a pitiful look, but Hope just continued, as all the words came tumbling out like a jug that had been tipped too far. “I didn’t see my dad for about two weeks, and he came back and sent me off to boarding school.”

Her counselor frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, Hope. Do you still talk to him?”

“Yeah. We worked things out, I guess.”

Sarah took a glance over her notes. Hope tried to not look at the clock.

“Tell me about your family. Where are you living?”

“I moved back in with my parents.” Her counselor wrote it down. “I’ll probably live there for a while.”

“Do you have any kids?”

“Just a stepdaughter.” 

Sarah nodded. “Where’s she living currently?”

“With her mom and stepdad. I go over for dinner about once a week or so, and help with homework. We text from time to time.”

The next period of silence was nearly deafening as her counselor looked over her notes.

“I didn’t think she would want me around that much after Scott passed, but she does, which kind of surprised me. I just don’t want her to go through what I went through when my mom died. No one deserves that.”

Her counselor looked up, her gaze turning to Hope. Sarah’s gaze was suddenly reminded of the first time she’d been reprimanded at boarding school, in her first month there. The headmistresses had glared at her for what seemed like hours. It had been ages since Hope had thought about that memory. It wasn’t until now, over thirty years later, that she couldn’t berate her past self for lashing out like she had. She had been a little girl, absolutely miserable and grieving, with a father who didn’t seem to give a shit and her whole world having fallen apart. 

Hope’s world kind of felt like that now.

“Why wouldn’t she want you around?”

“I don’t know. I guess we were closer than I thought. Scott and I died when she was…” Hope had to pause. All the years seemed to blur together. “Eight or so. We dated for about a year and then… things happened.” A Google search could tell Sarah everything she needed to know about that. The news of the Avengers fight that Scott had been a part of had been inescapable news for months. “We got back together after two years. Then half of the world was gone, including myself.”

“Did she see you after the Blip?”

“Yeah. She lived one week with us, next week with her mom and stepdad. For about a year, until Scott died.”

Sarah nodded. 

“Were there any issues between you?”

“Oh. Not really. Things have always been fine between us.” 

Her counselor was clicking her pen again. Hope took a glance down at her desk. She had a bobblehead of some old Hollywood actor. She couldn’t think of his name

“You mentioned you were part of the Snap.”

Hope nodded. 

“How have you been since?” Sarah continued.

“Well it seems like nothing can go fucking right for me.” 

Her counselor sighed. “I don’t blame you for thinking that.”

* * *

Cassie grinned as she hopped into the passenger seat and shut the door. “Thanks for taking me, Hope.”

“Of course,” Hope said. Cassie buckled her seatbelt. “Any particular reason?”

“Well I can’t drive, and you won’t bat an eye if I buy a blazer for the homecoming dance.”

“Very fair.”

It was a quick drive to the mall, and Cassie plugged her phone into the USB port, picking one of her playlists. There was a good chance it would rain later. Gray clouds had begun to roll in. 

The chance of rain had led a good crowd of people to spend time in the mall as well; the whole place was busy. The whole world was a lot more vibrant nowadays since the Blip. She hadn’t taken the time to enjoy it in a while. 

Cassie made a beeline for a pretzel stand, and then the two of them sat down at one of the few free benches.

Cassie frowned at her soda. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“So there’s this girl I like.” Cassie took a breath. “And I’ve been debating asking her to homecoming.”

Hope couldn’t deny that she was kind of shocked that Cassie would tell her something like this. She hadn’t had a conversation with someone about stuff like this since she’d been Cassie’s age.

“What’s stopping you from asking her?”

“Cause I don’t even know if it’s worth it. Even if she says yes, we’re graduating in the spring. She’ll probably get into some school all the way across the country and we’ll break up and what was the point?” Cassie sighed.

Hope thought about it. “Well… if you ask her, and she says yes, and that relationship continues… even if it ends when you two go off to schools somewhere else, that doesn’t mean that time spent together was meaningless. And you know- if it works out, that’s great too.”

Cassie nodded, frustrated, and Hope figured it was the end of that conversation. “So. What color blazer are you thinking?”

After Cassie finished her pretzel, they went to the nearest department store, where her stepdaughter immediately found a dark red blazer. 

“Mom wants me to wear the black dress, the one I sent the picture of. This would be fine to go over it right?”

“I think so.” 

Cassie looked at it for a moment, her lips pursed together as if she was pondering something hard. “It’s the same color as Dad’s suit, huh?”

Hope hadn’t even put two and two together. She nodded. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

“Do you think it’s alright?” Cassie asked. 

“I think it’s great.”

And an idea came to mind.

After the mall, she would go home and tell her parents her same crazy idea, and text Maggie and Paxton to get their permission for it. There was about 6 months until Cassie’s high school graduation, and she hoped that would be enough time to get it done.

* * *

It was Scott’s first birthday with him gone. And for some reason, that was the day she decided to go through his things.

Nearly everything from their apartment that hadn’t gotten back to Cassie had gone in cardboard boxes now stacked in the corner of her room. There was a fine layer of dust on top and she traced it with a finger and winced. She really should have sucked it up and gone through this months and months ago but…

She stepped over the threshold of her grief and sat down on the ground, pulling a box closer to her. She slid a hand into the opening to pull the cardboard flaps open, trying to see if she remembered anything from when they had packed up their apartment. She couldn’t. 

Inside the box were all of his clothes, and on top, the t-shirt she had stolen from him and wore for months, and that he practically just let her have. It must have been thrown in with the rest of his stuff. Even now it seemed difficult to look at it.

She would do a lot of things just to spend one more day with him. 

And here she was, mooning like a teenage girl. Except the person she desperately wanted back was dead and gone.

_ I miss you,  _ she thought, ever aware of the dull ache that permeated every emotion she had since he died. She put the shirt back in its spot and opened up a smaller box that sat beside it. 

Everything that had been on their dresser was there, and on the very top was a picture Scott had carried with him to every place he stayed. He’d taken it with him to the Avengers compound before the Blip, a picture of him and Cassie on Halloween, the last one before he went to prison, and it had subsequently been destroyed in the explosion. It had taken him a month of looking through files on his and Maggie’s computers to find it and print it out again. 

_ “She had gone through a whole princess phase,” Scott had told her when he put it into a new picture frame. “Ariel was her favorite.” _

Hope weighed it in her hands.  _ Cassie might want this.  _ She probably should have found it and given it to her months ago but… things took time, she supposed.

Suddenly it felt overwhelming to try and go through all of his things and she quickly stood up and closed the box. She could continue later.

_ I’ll be okay.  _ She didn’t know if she was saying it as an affirmation to herself, or hoping he’d know wherever he was. _ But I can say I would be happier if you were around.  _

* * *

It was Cassie’s high school graduation. 

Maggie’s parents were on one side, with Maggie and Paxton in the middle, and Hope and her parents on the other side. Janet was thrilled to be able to go. 

Cassie had the brightest smile she’d had in over a year as she walked across the stage and was handed her diploma. She had grown up a lot. 

Hope’s heart was heavy as she imagined just how happy Scott would be to see his daughter graduate, excited for all the opportunities that were ahead for her, excited to see all that his daughter would do.

When the final student was announced, the crowd began to disperse as the students left their seats, and Hope excused herself to go to the auditorium restroom. 

_ You should be here,  _ she thought, as she grabbed paper towel from the dispenser as the tears fell, and ducking into a stall for privacy.  _ You should be here to see your daughter graduate. _

She could hear two young girls walk in, laughing about some joke, and she muffled her tears in her hand. 

It was unfair. It was so fucking unfair, and on a day that should have had nothing but joy, she just felt angry. Angry that she had to grieve yet again. Angry that just when everything had seemed to be okay, someone else she loved had been ripped from her and everyone else. 

The two of them had seemed to be dealt a rotten hand in life. 

Hope wiped the final tears from her eyes and stepped out of the stall, pulling her mascara out of her bag to try and make herself more presentable. 

Once her face was much less red and she looked a little less like she’d cried in a high school bathroom, she went out to go and find the rest of her family. 

They were clustered under a tree. Maggie’s parents had given her a big bouquet, and Cassie’s smile was bright.

“Congratulations, Cass,” Hope said, leaning in for a hug. 

“Thanks.”

After a bit, they started to head towards the parking lot to go out to lunch and as they walked, Hope felt someone put an arm around her. She looked up to see it was her mother, a look of concern on her face. 

“You okay, dear?”

Hope nodded. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”

_ We all will.  _

* * *

That summer Cassie found herself busy with prepping for college, but the two of them managed to find time to hang out, the two of them. They went to an ice cream shop. It wasn’t until they got there that Hope remembered it had been Scott’s favorite to go to every summer.

There wasn’t enough space in the shop to sit, and it was too hot outside, so they picnicked in Hope’s car.

“I have something for you,” Hope said, feeling nervous. She pulled out the present she had wrapped last night from under her seat. “A graduation present, kind of.”

She handed it to Cassie, who looked at her with slight suspicion. 

“I thought it might be something that might mean a lot to you.”

The tears were okay. They ebbed and flowed like everything else. The grief found its way into the little things; it was more present some days than others. That was life now. 

Cassie took off the top of the box. 

“If you don’t want it, I understand,” Hope said quickly. “It was just something I thought might mean a lot to you…” She trailed off as Cassie picked up a tiny, miniature superhero suit.

Cassie was silent as the tears formed in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry-”

“No, no, don’t be sorry,” Cassie said, wiping her face, putting the suit back in the box. “I’m happy, I am. I’m honored.” 

“Your dad said you couldn’t get a suit until you were eighteen, and that’s about a month away, but my parents and I figured a graduation gift was in order.”

Cassie beamed through the tears. 

“Is this why Janet asked me what my favorite color was?”

“Yep. Hard keeping it a secret from you. We had to hide it in the lab every time you came over.”

“You did a great job,” Cassie said. “I had no idea.” There was silence in the car for a moment, and she picked up the suit again. 

“I just want Dad to be proud, Hope.”

For a moment, she could pretend he was there. He was also there in the car, there to see his daughter grow up, graduate, and go to college. Pretend he was there with all of them. 

“He is, Cass. He’s so proud. There’s no doubt about it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked. Kudos and comments are always loved and appreciated.
> 
> God, Scott better not die in Quantumania.


End file.
